Cup/lid combo is the cat's meow

For its new line of premium wet cat food, Meow Mix outsources processing and packaging to Thailand. Sophisticated machinery and complex materials work together.

Pw 9515 Meow Mix Popout

“We saw this as a way to combine product and package innovation in a way that would shake up this particular category. It’s wet cat food in a package format that people respond to because it says ‘fresh.’”

That’s how Scott Morris of the Meow Mix Co., describes the strategy behind the company’s new Market Select brand of wet cat food in a retortable plastic cup with heat-sealed foil-based lidding. Ruled traditionally by cans, the wet cat food category sees little innovation in packaging, says Morris, marketing vice president at the Secaucus, NJ-based firm.

“Retort pouches showed some innovation, and the pull ring on cans is worth noting, too,” says Morris. “But neither of those denotes freshness the way this package does.”

The 78-g portions sell across the U.S. for 53 cents each or $6.00 for a variety pack of 12. The Market Select line is positioned as a premium product aimed at consumers who see their cats as members of the family, says Morris.

Unlike the dry cat food that Meow Mix makes in its Decatur, AL, plant, this product is processed and packed by contract packager Thai Union of Thailand. That firm already produces wet cat food in a retort pouch for Meow Mix, and since that’s where many of the ingredients are caught—shrimp, crab, salmon—it makes sense to have the new product packed there, too.

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